Johnson & Johnson offers $5.5 billion to settle remaining talc lawsuits

Johnson & Johnson has agreed to pay $5.5 billion to settle all remaining lawsuits claiming its talc products caused ovarian cancer.

The drugmaker, which has been fighting talc-related lawsuits for more than a decade, said the settlement is conditioned on at least 95% of remaining claimants participating.

A U.S. bankruptcy court judge denied a $9 billion settlement proposed last year by company subsidiary Red River Talc, which would have been one of the largest mass tort settlements in history. Johnson & Johnson decided not to appeal that ruling and instead fight on in court.

Last week, a federal judge ordered plaintiffs in the case against Johnson & Johnson to show cause why the remaining pending talc claims should not be dismissed, after their witnesses could not provide a direct link between the company's product and cancer. The company maintains these claims are unsubstantiated.

Johnson & Johnson previously settled about 95% of filed lawsuits for mesothelioma, a cancer in the tissue surrounding organs like the lungs and heart, as well as all state consumer protection claims and all talc-supplier disputes. The company's shares rose more than 2% before market open on Tuesday.